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Filip Zadina Joins Czech World Championship Team

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Now that his Halifax Mooseheads have been eliminated from the QMJHL playoffs, Filip Zadina could settle in and wait for the upcoming draft, where he is expected to be among the very first few names off the board. Instead, he’s headed to join the Czech Republic men’s team as they prepare for the upcoming World Championships.

While it’s not clear if Zadina will suit up in the tournament for the Czech’s, the fact that he has been invited to their training camp shows just how talented the youngster is. The 18-year old recorded 44 goals and 82 points in the regular season for the Mooseheads, while being one of the most dangerous players at the World Juniors and putting up another 12 points in 9 playoff games. His year has been quite impressive, and an appearance at the Worlds would be icing on the cake.

Though he may still go third behind Rasmus Dahlin and Andrei Svechnikov (or even fourth behind Brady Tkachuk), Zadina figures to be a franchise-changing offensive talent in the NHL. The sniper can create offense all by himself by beating players with his speed and goaltenders with his shot, and he could likely slide onto an NHL powerplay right away. While he may need a bit more seasoning to develop his all-around game, there’s little doubt he can make an impact at the next level.

We won’t know where he’s going until the day of the draft, but on April 28th we’ll get an idea of where he could end up. That’s the draft lottery, where the Buffalo Sabres have the best chance at selecting first overall. Whoever ends up in second will have quite the decision on their hands, while third and fourth won’t complain about the superstar talent that falls to them.

No Suspensions Incoming For Josh Anderson, Tom Wilson

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According to the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan, neither Josh Anderson or Tom Wilson will be suspended for their illegal checks in last night’s Washington Capitals-Columbus Blue Jackets game. Anderson received a five-minute major and game misconduct for a hit on Michal Kempny, during which the Capitals’ Evgeny Kuznetsov scored twice. Wilson was given a two-minute charging penalty for a hit on Alexander Wennberg, who is listed as doubtful for the next game.

Khurshudyan reports that the league “could not determine whether or not Wennberg’s head was the main point of contact” given the camera angles, meaning Wilson will not face further discipline. That comes on a busy day for the Department of Player Safety, who are also dealing with an incident from the Toronto-Boston series.

If Wennberg can’t go, it is a big hit for the Blue Jackets who clawed back to win game 1 in overtime. Already relatively thin at center, the team would also need to replace him on both the powerplay and penalty kill. Wennberg scored the first Blue Jackets goal, but ended up playing just 10:51 after leaving early in the third.

Having Wilson escape without suspension is also huge news for the Capitals, who rely on him to give some physical and defensive balance to their scoring lines. Playing 18:55 last night, he also led all Washington forwards in penalty kill time. After the game, Wilson told Khurshudyan that he was just trying to finish his check, but sometimes he might have to rethink the hits he lays late in games. “That cost us the game” Wilson said, referencing the then-tying goal that Thomas Vanek scored on the ensuing powerplay.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Dennis Gilbert To Three-Year Deal

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After we saw Jordan Gross sign with the Arizona Coyotes yesterday, another Notre Dame defenseman has decided to turn pro. Dennis Gilbert has signed his three-year entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks, that will take him through the 2020-21 season. Gilbert is headed to the Rockford IceHogs for the remainder of the year on an amateur tryout.

While Gross may have more offensive upside, there is little to dislike in Gilbert’s defensive game. The 6’2″ 200-lbs defenseman is an outstanding athlete, and has taken huge strides to improve his skating over the past few seasons. A feared body checker and shut down player, he was named the Hockey East best defensive defenseman in 2017. That ability in his own end could pave a quick route to the NHL for Gilbert, who is no slouch with the puck on his stick.

Though he doesn’t carry it through the neutral zone as often as some of his contemporaries, he has a good first pass and get the puck out of his own end with possession. Deployed as a shadow of the opponent’s best players this season, he recorded just 10 points, but had 22 assists the year prior. The third-round pick from 2015 is still developing too, and could grow in to a full-time player for the Blackhawks.

Ken Hitchcock Announces Retirement From Coaching

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Dallas Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock has announced his retirement from coaching. As Elliotte Friedman explained in his most recent 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, Hitchcock had signed just a one-year deal in Dallas with the intention to move into a consulting role. Still, some believed that he wouldn’t really give up the bench, especially after the disappointment of this season. In a letter announcing it, Hitchcock says thank you to everyone who has been a part of his career:

The game of hockey has been my entire life and I could never repay what the game did for me and all the wonderful people I got to meet in my career. I would like to thank everyone for their friendship and support over the years. I have contemplated this since our last game and I came to the conclusion that now is the right time to step away and let the younger generation of coaches take over.

Hitchcock will go down as one of the most successful coaches in the history of the NHL, ranking fourth all-time in games coached and third in wins. He won a Stanley Cup with the Stars during his first tenure in 1999, only to take them back to the Finals a year later. This season though wasn’t exactly a sunset to ride out on.

The Stars loaded up in the offseason, bringing in players like Alexander Radulov and Ben Bishop, only to struggle for large chunks of the season and eventually miss the playoffs entirely. Though several players took steps forward in their development under Hitchcock, the Stars couldn’t find much consistency and would lose 12 of their final 17 games to fall out of the running.

Now a search begins for the Stars, who will need to find a new coach in time for the 2018-19 season. Since this was not a quick decision, the team has likely at least somewhat planned for their future and has a list of candidates in mind. The team does have quite a bit of experience among their assistants, including Curt Fraser who has head coaching experience with the Atlanta Thrashers, Stu Barnes with long ties to the Dallas organization as both a player and assistant, and Rick Wilson who replaced Hitchcock as interim coach of the Stars in the 2001-02 season.

Nazem Kadri Will Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Toronto Maple Leafs were pummeled by the Boston Bruins in the first game of their playoff series, and could lose a key player for at least another game. Nazem Kadri has a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety after his hit on Tommy Wingels in the third period. Kadri slammed into a kneeling Wingles and made significant contact with his head, driving it into the boards. Wingels would leave the game and Kadri would be given a five-minute boarding penalty along with a game misconduct.

While Kadri defended the check after the game by saying had Wingels not fallen moments before contact, it wouldn’t have even been penalized, there is some evidence to the contrary. Kadri appears to leave his feet before contact, and be targeting Wingels from several strides across the ice. Though obviously no one can truly know if he had time to avoid contact after seeing the Bruins player drop to one knee, the onus is on the checking player to avoid contact to the head.

As we saw with Drew Doughty yesterday, the league will not hesitate to suspend a player during the playoffs. One thing to consider though is that Doughty was not penalized during his incident, while Kadri was taken out of the game and his five-minute major essentially ended any comeback hopes the Maple Leafs had. The league does seem to consider initial punishment in their rulings, though obviously Kadri’s may still warrant further discipline.

West Notes: Flames, Muzzin, Blues

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With a big need to add up front and a lack of draft picks to deal from, Postmedia’s Eric Francis suggests that the Flames should consider dealing one of defensemen Dougie Hamilton or T.J. Brodie this summer.  Calgary slotted in 26th overall in the league in goals and while they boasted one of the deepest defence corps in the NHL, that can only take a team so far when they struggle to score.

Both players would be sure to generate plenty of interest.  Hamilton is coming off his fourth straight season with more than 40 points and is still just 24 years of age while carrying a $5.75MM cap hit, a more than reasonable amount for someone who plays the role he does.  Meanwhile, Brodie is coming off somewhat of a down year but has a track record of being a productive player on the back end while his mobility suits the faster-styled pace of play.  He has two years left on his pact with a $4.65MM cap charge.  Flames GM Brad Treliving would undoubtedly like to keep his back end intact moving forward but if he is going to add some help up front, they may have to subtract someone from that group to do so.  Fortunately, with the likes of Rasmus Andersson, Jusso Valimaki, and Oliver Kylington in the system, they have quality prospects that will be ready to step into a regular NHL spot in the near future.

Elsewhere around the West:

  • Fresh off losing Drew Doughty for Game Two due to his one-game suspension, it doesn’t appear they’ll be getting Jake Muzzin back as a reinforcement either. Head coach John Stevens told reporters, including Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider, that Muzzin has been skating but has not yet been cleared for contact.  With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll be given the green light to play on Friday without at least going through at least one practice with contact.
  • The Blues’ addition of Winnipeg’s first-round pick at the trade deadline will allow them to be active in the trade market this summer, GM Doug Armstrong revealed to Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, among other reporters. That was the centerpiece of the Paul Stastny trade and its inclusion was particularly noteworthy since as things stand, St. Louis won’t have their own first-rounder to work with.  (If the Blues win one of the top-three selections in the Draft Lottery, they can defer transferring the pick until next year.)

Atlantic Notes: Reinhart, Senators Draft Pick, Panthers

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The Sabres have yet to hold any contract talks with pending restricted free agent forward Sam Reinhart, reports Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald.  The 22-year-old caught fire in the second half of this season and as a result, he posted career highs in goals (25) and points (50) and will be set to earn a considerable raise on his next contract.

Speaking with reporters at a news conference, GM Jason Botterill acknowledged that their situation in the standings played a role in their decision to put off contract talks until after the year, a decision that might cost them a bit given the way Reinhart ended his season.  Botterill also confirmed that head coach Phil Housley will return for 2018-19 and that goaltender Linus Ullmark will be one of the Sabres’ goaltenders next season, meaning that at least one of Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson will be heading elsewhere.

More from the Atlantic:

  • Among the many topics discussed at the Senators’ end-of-season press conference was the upcoming draft. GM Pierre Dorion told reporters, including Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, that the team intends to keep their first-round pick this year and not transfer it to Colorado.  As a result, the Avalanche will acquire Ottawa’s unprotected first-round selection for 2019.  Because they finished 30th overall in the standings, the Senators can pick no worse than fifth overall in June; the draft lottery is set to be held on Saturday, April 28th.
  • The Panthers plan to be selective in unrestricted free agency, GM Dale Tallon told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Tallon wouldn’t go as far as saying that they won’t be buyers on the open market but he was quick to caution that they don’t want to take away playing and development time from their young core of players either.  Florida has just over $65MM committed to 19 players for next season per CapFriendly with no restricted free agents in need of big raises so they will have some wiggle room to work with if they can find the right fit.

Drew Doughty Suspended One Game For Illegal Check

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6:10pm: Doughty has been given a one-game suspension. That takes a huge part of the lineup out for the Kings, who are already down 1-0 in the series. As the accompanying video explains:

If Doughty wishes to deliver this check, he must take an angle of approach that hits through the core of Carrier, rather than one that makes the head the main point of contact. 

The video even goes so far as to include the rule verbatim, recognizing the dispute that this suspension will create.

9:42am: Last night in their loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty threw a check on William Carrier that appeared to catch him in the head. Though the hit wasn’t penalized, Carrier was taken off for concussion protocol. The league has now announced that Doughty will have a hearing today to determine if there will be supplementary discipline.

Carrier had been getting under the skin of Los Angeles players all night, landing several big hits on Doughty himself. He finished the game with 10 hits in just 8:49 of ice time, an impressive performance, especially if he ends up earning a suspension for Doughty.

The league usually tries to avoid suspensions for playoff games, counting them somewhere around doubly as important as a regular season contest. If it is determined that the head was the principal point of contact though, they may have no other choice.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Jordan Gross To Entry-Level Contract

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The Arizona Coyotes have signed undrafted free agent defenseman Jordan Gross to a two-year entry-level contract. Gross just completed his fourth season with the University of Notre Dame. Coyotes GM John Chayka released a statement in the announcement:

Jordan was one of the top defensemen in the NCAA last year and we’re thrilled to add him to our organization. He’s a mobile, puck-moving, right shot defenseman who is very smart. He will join a great group of young players that we now have in Arizona.

Gross, 22, was recently named to the All-Tournament team in the Frozen Four after Notre Dame made it to the National Championship game. The mobile defenseman racked up 30 points for the third consecutive season, finishing his collegiate career with a whopping 121 points in 159 games.

For Arizona, adding talent in ways other than the draft is key to turning the system around. Though they took strides towards the playoffs in the second half, they still need to add dynamic talents that will help them in the coming years. There’s no guarantee that Gross will be able to defend well enough to contribute in the NHL, but he’s certainly talented enough to take a chance on.

Jonathan Dahlen Reassigned To Utica Comets

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After another outstanding season in Sweden, Vancouver Canucks prospect Jonathan Dahlen is on his way to the Utica Comets to help in their postseason run. Utica has three games remaining before the end of the regular season, but have already secured a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Dahlen, 20, was acquired last season from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Alexandre Burrows, and has done nothing but impress since. After scoring 44 points in 45 games last season for Timra in the Swedish second league, he matched that total in one fewer game this time around. That was good for second in the entire league, and his 14 playoff points led all Allsvenskan skaters.

Selected 42nd overall in 2016, Dahlen is a legitimate top-six forward prospect that could contribute to Vancouver’s offense sooner than later. His creativity with the puck and goal scoring ability makes him dangerous from anywhere in the offensive zone, and can find opportunities where others may not. Though somewhat undersized—unlike his father, long-time NHL player Ulf Dahlen who stood 6’2″—he gets quite a bit of power in his shot and can almost always find space to unload it.

The young forward might need a whole year (or more) in the AHL before really making an impact in Vancouver, but he’ll get a chance to turn some heads over the next few weeks. If he jumps right into the action with Utica—who have had trouble scoring goals at times this season, relying on Thatcher Demko to steal games for them—there is no reason to think he won’t be able to produce offense at good clip.

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